Kazakhstan-China cooperation prospects

15.06.2018 11:22

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Mutually beneficial cooperation between Kazakhstan and China has reached a new level of development. It is proved by the multiple agreements reached during the state visit of Kazakh President, Nursultan Nazarbayev to China. China is one of the top five largest importers of Kazakh products. One of the topics of discussions during the visit of President Nazarbayev to China is the introduction of single standards of phytosanitary and veterinary procedures. According to experts, the single standard will allow increasing the volumes of shipments of agricultural products to China. The Kazakh producers exported agricultural products worth US$180 million to China in 2017.

ZHUMABEK SARABEKOV, EXPERT, INSTITUTE OF WORLD ECONOMICS AND POLITICS:

-There is a great demand for organic agricultural products in the Chinese market. The Kazakh producers have a competitive advantage in this field. Our agricultural producers can fill this gap and become suppliers of high quality meat and other agricultural products. In addition, the Chinese consumers are ready to pay a lot of money for organic products made in Kazakhstan.

The leaders of Kazakhstan and China have agreed on joint implementation of innovative projects in the fields of chemical industry, machine-building and energy sector. In particular, the Kazakh and Chinese companies will launch a deep grain processing plant in Kazakhstan. The processed grain is used to manufacture fabrics, plastic material and polymeric metals. The investment for the project totals US$2.5 billion.

LIU XIUCAI, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, CATHAY INDUSTRIAL BIOTECH:

- We plan to apply the most advanced technologies. With the help of biochemistry, we can manufacture various products, such as clothes and carpets. We are the only company that has this technology in the world and we are proud of it.

Kazakh and Chinese businesses plan to establish joint enterprises in Kazakhstan. This list includes 51 facilities, in which a number of them are already launched. Chinese automobiles manufactured in Kazakhstan are a good example of the successful cooperation.

ASSEL NAZARBETOVA, HEAD OF DEPARTMENT, KAZAKH INSTITUTE FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES:

- These cars are quite popular. On one hand, these automobiles are affordable for the mass market due to their low prices. And on the other hand, customers opt for these automobiles because of its high quality.

- At the moment, 11 Kazakh-Chinese projects are already implemented. We are planning to implement projects worth US$28 billion. The Kazakh manufacturers are focusing on environmentally-friendly and harmless manufacturing processes. What’s more important is that we would like these enterprises to hire the Kazakh citizens for the majority of jobs.

Political experts and economists of Kazakhstan and China agree on the importance of the summit and the growing level of mutually beneficial cooperation between the countries. Experts highlighted that the friendly relations between Kazakhstan and China are positively affecting the development of the entire Central Asian region.

- The recent visit of President Nazarbayev to China is another proof that the bilateral relations are important not only for the two countries, but for the stable development and prosperity of the Central Asian region as well.

During the state visit of Kazakh President, Nursultan Nazarbayev to China, 40 commercial contracts worth US$13 billion were signed between the two countries. International experts believe that the high level of confidence and cooperation will positively affect the economic potential of Kazakhstan and China.